Wednesday, December 02, 2009

Weekly Toll: Death in the American Workplace

December 7, Jacksonville, Florida - Jacksonville police are hunting for two robbers who fatally shot a pizza delivery woman Friday night after luring her to a vacant Murray Hill apartment. The Domino's driver has not been identified by police or the company. The slaying occurred shortly before 10 p.m. in a small, unnamed apartment complex at Comanche Street and Alpha Avenue. The victim was found shot in the chest, lying only feet from her van, with her pizza bag just feet away. A neighbor who went to help the woman said he saw her take a few breaths before falling unconscious. She was taken to Shands Jacksonville, where she was pronounced dead.

Osage County deputy is killed in crash

December 4, Pawhuska, Alabama — Deputy Adam Michael Mehagan had been with the Osage County Sheriff's Office for only nine months, but in that short time, he had made his mark as a dedicated law enforcement officer, Sheriff Ty Koch said Thursday. Mehagan, 25, was killed early Thursday when his patrol car rolled over on a rural road in the hilly countryside between Prue and Skiatook while he was responding to a burglary call. On Thursday, fellow deputies visited the scene and tried to come to terms with the loss of their comrade. It had been 85 years since the Sheriff's Office lost a deputy in the line of duty, Koch said.

1 killed at oasis after blast at NDK

December Belvidere, Illinois — A truck driver standing in the parking lot of the Belvidere Oasis was hit by flying debris and killed today after an explosion rocked the NDK plant at Crystal Parkway, south of U.S. 20. The victim, 63-year-old Ronald Greenfield of Chesterton, Ind., was in the parking lot of the Interstate 90 oasis, said Sandra Rogers, Boone County’s emergency management coordinator. Greenfield, a truck driver, was out of his vehicle when he was struck by a large piece of debris.

Delivery driver killed in Fresno

A man was booked into a New Jersey jail over the weekend for alleged involvement in a shooting at a Fresno restaurant two weeks ago that seriously injured one of the owners. Monmouth County Jail officials said Cauro Sanchez, 35, of Asbury Park, N.J., was arrested Saturday. He was booked on suspicion of being a fugitive from California after a shooting in Fresno seriously injured Corina Hernandez, 40, of Clovis, a co-owner of Corina's Super Mercado and Taqueria near Willow Avenue and Kings Canyon Road... The Fresno County Coroner's Office identified the dead man as 27-year-old Richard Hernandez. His is the 40th homicide in Fresno this year. At this point last year, there were also 40 homicides.

December 7, Brooklyn, New York - A Brooklyn warehouse worker was crushed to death Monday morning when a load of granite tiles toppled on him, police said. The man, identified by cops as 47-year-old Yuquan Chen, of Gravesend, died instantly in the 9:30 a.m. accident. The tiles, used to make kitchen counter tops, were "stacked on top of each other" from the floor up at First Choice Supply in Borough Park, said a police source. A number of slabs somehow fell on the worker's head, killing him. His frantic colleagues used a fork lift to try to rescue him from under the heavy granite plates. Chen's sobbing relatives gathered at the warehouse but did not comment.

Anderson city worker struck, killed on the job

December 3, Anderson, Indiana - A city worker was struck and killed in Anderson Sunday night. The Anderson mayor's office tells Eyewitness News Dale Jones was clearing road debris near Scatterfield and Mounds Road around 10 p.m. Sunday when he was struck. The vehicle that hit him did stop at the scene. Jones, who has worked for the city for seven years, was taken to St. John's Hospital and later transferred to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he passed away.

Package Store Clerk Killed in Robbery Attempt

December 5, Atlanta, Georgia - A package store employee was shot and killed during a robbery attempt in Southeast Atlanta Friday night. A spokesman with the Atlanta police department told WSB Radio the employee was shot after a suspect told him to empty out the cash register. It happened at the Moreland Package store at 15 Moreland Avenue around 10 p.m. Friday. "A second employee heard the victim say that he had been shot," Atlanta police Lt. Keith Meadows told WSB Radio. "It was at that point, the second employee engaged the suspect in gun battle."

Pelham police officer dies after being shot overnight

December 4, Birmingham, Alabama - A Pelham police officer, shot during a traffic stop just before midnight, has died, according to a Pelham Police Department press release. Interstate 65 North and South has reopened at the site of the shooting, mile marker 243, according to the Shelby County Sheriff's Department. Local, state and federal investigators are involved. Hoover police are holding a suspect or suspects.

Officer responding to Pa. home disturbance killed

December 7, Penn Hills, Pennsylvania — Police say an officer responding to a domestic disturbance at a suburban Pittsburgh home has been shot and killed. Neighbors report hearing 10 gunshots Sunday night at the home in Penn Hills, an Allegheny County township with about 50,000 residents. Nancy Salera lives about four houses away and tells the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette she was "absolutely horrified" by what sounded like shots coming from a machine gun. She says police swarmed the area minutes after the gunfire stopped.

Local man dies in structure fire at northwest-side nail salon

December 6, San Antonio, Texas - One man died after a structure fire trapped a worker at a nail salon inside. At about 1 a.m. Sunday, fire fighters were called out to fight a structure fire at Northpark Shopping Center in the 500 block of Loop 410 NW. Police say the bathroom of the Angels Nails caught fire. The family of Quoc Tran, 33, says he was working in the back of the salon at the time. They say he was trapped in the back and died of smoke inhalation

Man dies in horrifying lumber accident

December 7, Gilmer, Texas - A horrible accident claims a man's life at an East Texas Lumber Company. It happened around 9am Wednesday morning at Hixon Lumber Sales on Montgomery Road in Gilmer. Investigators say an employee, Ricardo Pena, 33, of Gilmer, got too close to a wood saw plane press machine, and was pulled into it, crushing him. He was pronounced dead at the scene. "When we arrived, what we found was that a worker had gotten close to one of the machines, and it appeared that his clothing had gotten entangled and it pulled him into the machine and as a result of that he suffered fatal injuries," said Detective Roxanne Warren, with the Gilmer Police.

Man killed in Lemon Cove industrial accident

December 2, Pheonix, Arizona - Few details are available in an industrial accident that claimed the life of a worker at a Lemon Cove asphalt plant. Sheriff's officials say Christopher McPherson, 28, of Painburg, Arizona, was killed in an accident at the Vulcan Materials site on Thursday afternoon. Preliminary reports didn't indicate how McPherson was killed. A sheriff's spokeswoman said he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Alabama-based Vulcan Materials has 334 facilities and employs 11,000 people nationwide.

Second trucker dies after CF accident

December 3, Rosemount, Oklahoma A second man has died due to injuries sustained during an accident Nov. 16 at a CF Industries trucking terminal located in Rosemount. Roy Thomas Taylor of Moore, OK, died Monday at Region’s Hospital where he had been treated since the accident. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed the death. Taylor, a trucker with High Pressure Transports, was exposed to anhydrous ammonia while loading his truck. Another trucker with the company, Robert Shue of Kingfisher, OK, died at the scene of the accident.

Newark police identify grocery store employee killed by gunman

December 3, Newark, New Jersey - A gunman ordered a grocery clerk out of his Newark store, then fought with him before fatally shooting him, police said today. The victim was identified as 50-year-old Daniel Lewis of Newark. Lewis was shot once in the chest just outside D&J Variety, at 404 Hawthorne St., around 7 p.m. Wednesday, Newark police Detective Todd McClendon said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The gunman entered the store, announced a robbery and ordered Lewis out, police said. A female employee appears to be the only other person left inside.

1 killed, 2 injured in Texas refinery accident

December 5, Texas City, Texas — One worker was killed and two others were injured when a boiler failed at a Valero petroleum refinery in eastern Texas. Texas City emergency manager Bruce Clawson says the two people who were injured in the incident Friday night were in good condition. Valero Energy Co. spokesman Bill Day could not say whether there had been an explosion or a fire during the failure without further investigation. The worker who died and one of the injured were Valero employees. Day says the other injured person was a contract worker who was taken to a hospital in Texas City.

Worker at Kravis Center falls to death

December 2, West Palm Beach, Florida - The worker who died today after falling 25 feet at the Rinker Playhouse has been identified as 27 year old Fenton "Andy" Hollingsworth. According to Communications Manager, Loretta Grantham, Hollingsworth was working on rigging and lighting for tomorrow's Voices of Pride performance when he fell from a catwalk to the stage this afternoon. It's not known whether Hollingsworth was wearing a harness.

Highway worker killed while working on snow plow

December 2, Santiam Junction, Oregon - A 60-year-old highway worker died Nov. 30 from an accidental head wound suffered while performing maintenance on a snow plow, officials said. James Michael Yankey, 60, died from a head injury, according to the Linn County Medical Examiner. A co-worker found Yankey unresponsive on the ground near a snowplow around 2 p.m. and began CPR, but Yankey never regained consciousness.

Crash kills road worker, injures another on Route 3

December 2, Chelmsford, Massachusetts - A worker helping to clean up an oil spill was killed, and a second worker was seriously injured yesterday when a car crossed into the breakdown lane on Route 3 north and struck them, State Police said. Anderson Cadell Jr., 44, of Seabrook, N.H., who was employed by United Oil Recovery Inc. of Connecticut, was killed instantly when a 2001 Acura MDX operated by Juanita McKenzie, 33, of Lowell, pinned him between her vehicle and a tractor-trailer truck working on the roadway, according to State Police. Cadell was dropping off a waste receptacle to an environmental crew from a second, unnamed company that was removing contaminated soil from a fuel spill that occurred last week.

Police ID Utility Worker Killed In Accident

December 2, Kansas City, Missouri - Independence police identified a utility worker killed on Tuesday when a van crashed into the area where he was working. Christopher W. Stansbury, 29, of Kansas City, was working in a ditch at U.S. Highway 24 and Missouri Highway 291 when the accident happened just before 8 a.m. The 68-year-old driver told police he choked on coffee, lost control of his van, and hit a utility pole before crashing into Stansbury and his co-worker.

ODOT worker found dead near snow plow

December 1, Santiam, Oregon - An Oregon Department of Transportation maintenance worker died at the Santiam Junction maintenance station on Highway 20 near Sisters. Another worker found 60-year-old James Michael Yankey yesterday afternoon unconscious on the ground near a snowplow. He could not be revived by CPR. State police are investigating.

One killed in crash on Route 3 in Chelmsford

December 1, Chelmsford, Massachusetts — A worker participating in an oil spill cleanup was killed and a second one was seriously injured today when a car crossed illegally into the breakdown lane on Route 3 northbound and struck them, State Police said. A Seabrook, N.H., man employed by United Oil Recovery Inc. of Connecticut was killed instantly when the 2001 Acura MDX driven by Juanita McKenzie, 33, of Lowell, pinned him between her vehicle and a tractor trailer truck working on the roadway, according to State Police. The worker, whose name was not released, was dropping off a waste receptacle to an environmental crew from a second, unnamed company that was removing contaminated soil from a fuel spill that occurred last week.